In two starts against Reading, Senators RHP Rob Gilliam is 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA. In three starts against other teams, including Saturday night's 8-1 loss to New Britain, Gilliam is 0-2 with a 7.90 ERA.
(PAUL CHAPLIN, PennLive.com, 2012)

STREAK ENDS, HARRISBURG BACK IN SECOND: After a couple of days tied for first atop the Eastern League's Western Division, Harrisburg (36-32) falls a game behind Erie (36-30) with this loss and the SeaWolves' 16-2 poleaxing of New Hampshire. It snapped a four-game winning streak for the Senators, not-so-coincidentally also snapping a string of four straight games yielding one or zero runs.

GILLIAM REMAINS STREAKY ON THE MOUND: Having fired five genuinely perfect innings in his last start at Reading, RHP Rob Gilliam wasn't so sharp Saturday night, all five runs (four earned) on five hits and four walks in 4.1 innings. He fell to 2-2 with a 4.94 in five starts. In two starts vs. Reading, the 25-year-old is 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA. Against three other teams, Gilliam is 0-2 with 7.90 ERA.

VANOSTRAND PROVIDING POP: No big surprise that the solidly built Jimmy VanOstrand, signed by the Nationals out of independent ball last year, continues to hit. He was 2-for-4 with a home run and a double Saturday and has hit safely in seven of his last nine games. Overall, since joining the Senators from Triple-A Syracuse in early May, the 28-year-old is hitting .295/.362/.467 with nine doubles and three homers.

GRACE EXTENDS SCORELESS STREAK: Since his promotion from High-A Potomac at the beginning of this month, LHP Matt Grace has been stellar out of the Senators' bullpen. He tossed a 1-2-3 eighth and has yet to allow a run in 6.1 Double-A innings. The 24-year-old also hasn't allowed a hit over his last three outings and has struck out five vs. zero walks for Harrisburg.

SOME SENATORS HITTERS IN SUDDEN SLUMPS: Slightly hidden by the team's recent winning streak have been minor hitting slumps by a few of the team's hitters. Notably, RF Steven Souza Jr. is in a 2-for-23 slide, Jerad Head and Jose Lozada are both in 2-for-22 slumps, and Brian Goodwin is in a 4-for-27 slide.

UPDATES ON NICOL & HAGUE: Turns out IF Sean Nicol suffered a hand injury in Friday night's game, which explains why he was replaced by Lozada in the fourth. Nicol did not play Saturday, and there's no word on the severity of the injury. Meanwhile, 2B Ricky Hague, out of the last five games with a groin injury, ran the bases before Saturday's game, according to Senators' broadcaster Terry Byrom, and is still day-to-day.

WALK THIS WAY, SANO: He's still just 1-for-8 since promotion to New Britain earlier this week, but No. 1 Twins prospect Miguel Sano showed a great deal of patience Saturday night vs. the Senators' pitching. The 20-year-old third baseman, one of the top prospects in all of baseball, drew three walks and scored two runs. The Dominican is also considered the best power-hitting prospect in the Twins' organization.